All students at UNCW, including students with transfer credit and early college credit, enter UNCW categorized as undeclared, first-year students. As an undeclared student (e.g., a student who cannot yet officially declare their major), you will be advised by a designated honors advisor who has a general knowledge of majors, minors, honors curriculum, and University Studies requirements.
This advisor will help you explore potential majors and paths and select classes that enable your goals or expand your horizons. You will need to get a PIN from your designated advisor before you are able to register for classes each semester. Once you complete 24 credits at UNCW (usually 2 semesters), you will be eligible to declare your major.
You do not have to declare your major at this point and can wait until you're more certain. Until you declare a major, you will be advised by Honors College generalist advisors.
Most students declare a major at some point in their 2nd year of college. Declaring a major is not a binding decision, and you can still change it later. But, declaring a major change your advisor. Rather than the general UNCW Honors advisor you have been working with previously, you will have an advisor in your major department.
You will meet with that new person each semester to secure your PIN and register for classes. That means that if you declare a major in psychology, a psych professor may serve as your academic advisor; if you declare a major in business, one of the professional advisors in the Cameron School of Business will advise you; etc.
One important thing to know is that major advisors don't always have a perfect understanding of honors requirements. We encourage you to track your own honors progress using tools in the Honors Canvas course.
However, you are always (regardless of grade level, major, time of year, etc.) welcome to make an appointment with Nikki Kroushl, the full-time academic advisor in Honors. Part of the Honors Academic Advisor's job is providing supplemental advising to upper-level students to ensure they stay on track for Honors.
Continue to make progress in your major and finish up your University Studies and Honors requirements. The Honors advising team is still happy to provide advice and feedback on completing your honors requirements. This is when students need to begin to think about their potential honors thesis projects.
Most students complete their honors thesis projects during this year. Honors staff are still happy to help you navigate honors requirements (including the honors thesis), but you will still primarily meet with your major advisor to select classes.